Disappearing ice chest



Aug. 18, 1925.

1,550,210 M. .w. coNKLlN DISAPPEARING ICE CHEST Filed oct. 15. 1924*lily' Z Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

.UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

Menzo w. conrinrii, or onaMBnaLi-irii, sourir nnnorn.

DISAPPEARING ICE CHEST.

Application led October 13, 1924. Serial No. 743,241.

ToA all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Menzo 1V. CoNiLiN, a citizen of the United States,and a residentof Chamberlain, in the county of Brule and 5 StatelofSouth Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDisappearing Ice Chests, of which the following is a specication. n

My invention relates to disappearing ice chests, and it is my object toprovide such a chest which is of simple, durable and ineX- pensiveconstruction.

A further object is to provide a chest which is mounted for verticalsliding movement in an encased opening in a floor, and which, when notin use, rests Hush with the flooring, the top of the. chest serving as acontinuation thereof.

A further object is t0 provide means for counter-balancing the 'weightof the chest when in raised position.

i A further object is to provide means for compensating for the loss ofweight due to melting of ice within the chest.

A still further object is to provide a combined pneumatic shock absorberfor relieving the impact of the chest against its casing-when lowered,and a guiding means to prevent binding of the chest Within its casing.

With these and other objects in View my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of mydevice, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinaftermore fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

. Fig. 1 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view through my device.

Fig. 2 is a vertical, transverse, sectional view taken on the line 2HEof Fig. 1, the chest and its easing beingshown in elevation. 1

Fig. 3 is. a detail sectional view illustrating a portion of the lowercorner of the .chest iii-raised position, together with the adjacentportion of the casing, the latching means for retaining the chest Vinraised posi: tion being illustrated.

' Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the .casing and adjacent floorjoist construction,

the flooring being removed.

-1 .have used thegreferenee character 10 to indicate :generally theVparallel joists com,n

monly used to support the flooring, 11, of a house. These joists areordinarily spaced about twenty inches apart, and where a very smallchest is` used the casing therefor may be formed by using a pair ofjoists as side membersand bridging across between the Joists to form theother sides. However, ordinary needs require a chest of` greater Widththan twenty inches, and I therefore preferably provide a casing for the.chest to slide in as follows:

lTwo or more of the joists, 10, may be cut away as at 12 and the spacetherebetween encased by transverse casing members, 13, which may be ofthe same material as the joists. Casing members, 14,V are then arranged`between the members, 13, transverse thereto and parallel to the joists,10. The members, 14, are spaced from the joists, 10, for a purpose whichwill hereinafter be set forth.

Vithin the opening defined by the casing members, 13 and 14, is looselymounted the ice chest or cabinet, having the sides, 15, the bottom, 16,and the top, 17, The top, 17, is equal in width to the length of themembers, 13, and in breadth, to the length of the members, 14.` ,It willthus be seen that a pair of projecting leaves, 18, are formed which,whenthe cabinet is in low ered position, cover the opening between thejoists, 10, andthe casing members, 14. The top, 17, is flush with theflooring, 11, when the cabinet is inV lowerediposition.

Reinforcing metallic-L-shaped plates, 19, may be secured to the sides ofthe cabinet in order to aid in supporting the weight of the same againstthe casing;

The cabinet may be constructed similarly to the ordinary ice box, andpreferably is provided with an inner wall, 20, spaced from the outerwalls so astto provide an in sulating air space. In the upper portionthereof is supported the icefreceiving tray, 21, from which the drainpipes, 22, extend downwardly between the walls, 2() and 15, on eitherside of the cabinet. FlangedA pipe connections, 23, serve `tosupport-the short pipes, 24, rigidly relative to the cabinet, and alsoto ferm a communication between the pipes, 24 and 22. The two pipes, 24,serve as legs, which are connected together through the medium.; of theintimes, 25, Vthe converging pipes, 26, andthe Y-shaped fitting, 27The'vertical pipe, 28h-is 4threaded into the lower portion of thefitting, 27, and carries at its lower end .a leather piston, 29, securedbetween a threaded nut, 30, and a threaded cap, 31, which latter servest0 close the pipe, 28.

The pipe, 28, extends into a cylindrical tube, 32, which is embedded atits lower end in a concrete base, or in the floor, 33, of the basementof the house. The tube is apertured, as at 34, a short distance abovethe lowermost position of the piston, 29. The lower end of the pipe maybe closed by the concrete base, and it will be seen that as the cabinet.is moved downwardly toward closed position the piston, 29, will, uponpassing the apertures, 34, compress the air within the tube, 32, and bethereby opposed in its further downward movement. The air cushion willthen allow the cabinet to slowly sink into place without jarring againstthe casing. When the cabinet is in its uppermost position, the piston,29, is still contained in the tube, 32, near the upper end thereof. Itwill be seen that the tube, 32, will serve as a guide for properlypositioning the lower end of the cabinet as it moves up and down, andwill allow the cabinet to slide freely within the casing withoutbinding.

Extending outwardly from the fittings, 25, are the short arms, 35, tothe ends of which are fastened cables, 36, extending upwardly and aroundwooden roller pulleys, 39, thence downwardly and terminating in hooks,40. Upon the hooks, 40, are hung weights, 41, of such size as to balancethe weight of the cabinet and its normal contents. Auxiliary weights,46, may be provided and kept in compartments, 47, constructed along thesides of the casing members, 14, between said casing members and thejoist, 10. Sufficient space is left between the sides of thecompartments, 47, and the joists, 10, to enable a person to extend hisarm therethrough and attach one of the weights, 46, to a hook, 40. Theweights, 46, are used when additional food material is placed within thecabinet. f

In order to facilitate raising of the cabinet, I provide a ring, 48,hinged at one side to the top of the cabinet and adapted to lie 1n anannular groove, 49, when not being used.

The corner-bracing irons, 50, may be provided, which extend downwardlyto form the legs, 51. When the cabinet is in raised p osition the legs51, serve to maintain its upright position by engaging the interior ofthe casing. It will be noted in this connection that the cabinet, whenin raised position, extends almost entirely above the opening, andforthis reason the legs, 51, are essential. The legs, 51, may be formedwith hooks, 52, on 'their lower ends adapted to embrace the casmgmembers, 14, when the cabinet isin raised position, and having detentportions, 53, adapted to enter the depressions, 54, in the members, 14.

It may be mentioned here that ordinarily the weight of the cabinet issomewhat more than that of the counter-balancing weights in order thatthe cabinet may always remain securely in its lowered position. A smallamount of force is therefore necessary to lift the cabinet in additionto overcoming the friction between the cabinet and its casing, and thegripping action of the hooks, 52 is sufficient to overcome thisdifference" in weight so as to maintain the cabinet in its upperposition. By pushing down slightly on the top of the cabinet it may bereleased and allowed thence to drop to position where the piston, 29,encounters the air cushion at the lower end of the tube, 32.

rllhe fittings, 25, are provided vwith inwardly extending open necks,55, extending over the edges of a sheet metal tank, 56, supported by thediverging arms, 26, and suitably secured thereto as by soldering. Thewater draining downwardly through the pipes, 22 and 24, will escapethrough the necks, 55, into the tank, 56, and will be thereby retainedso as to preserve the weight of the cabinet and the ice thereinconstant. lhen new ice is added the water may be drained through afaucet, 57, and the amount taken out may be gauged by the gauge marks,58, within the tank. Thus if twenty-iive pounds of ice is added to theice compartment, the Same amount of water may be drawn through thefaucet, 57. It will be understood that access to the faucet, 57, may beobtained by going into the basement of the house in which the device isinstalled.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of theparts of my invention without departing from the real spirit and purposeof my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims anymodified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which maybe reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a disappearing ice chest, a cabinet mounted for vertical slidingmovement in an encased opening in a tioor, means for counterbalancingthe weight of the cabinet at any of its positions, a downwardlyextendingshaft supported from said cabinet, a piston on the end of said shaft,and a cylinder mounted independently of the cabinet, receiving saidpiston, and apertured near its lower end substantially above thelowermost posit-ion of the piston, the portion of said cylinder belowthe aperture serving to provide an air-cushion chamber, and the portionof saidcylinder above the aperturev serving as a guide. f. l

2.-In combination `with' a. floor having a pair o'fspaced paralleljoists and'iooring partly supported thereby, the flooring being cut awaybetween said joists, casing members spaced inwardly from said joists, acabinet mounted between said casing members for vertical slidingmovement and having a top designed to cover the entire opening betweenthe joists and to be positioned flush with the flooring when thecabinetis in lowered position, pulleys mounted between the joists and casingmembers, cables fixed to the lower end of the cabinet and extending oversaid pulleys, hooks on the free ends of the cables, weights on saidhooks and auxiliary weights attachable to said hooks through saidopenings between the `ioists and casing members when the cabinet is inraised position.

3. In combination with a floor having a pair of spaced parallel joistsand flooring partly supported thereby, the flooring being cut awaybetween said joists, casing members spaced inwardly from said joists, acabinet mounted between said casing members for vertical slidingmovement and having a top designed to cover the entire opening betweenthe joists and to be positioned flush with the flooring when the cabinetis in lowered position, pulleys mounted between the joists and casingmembers, cables fixed to the lower end of the cabinet and extending oversaid pulleys, weight receiving compartments between the casing membersand joists, hooks on the free ends of the cables, weights supported onsaid hooks and auxiliary weights normally retained in saidweight-receiving compartments and attachable to said hooks through theopenings between the joists and casing members when the cabinet is inraised position.

4l. In combination with a floor having spaced joists, a casing formedbetween said joists and having side members spaced therefrom, a cabinetmounted in said casing for vertical sliding movement, the sides of thecabinet fitting intimately within the casing to guide the cabinet andmaintain its upright position in all positions of vertical movement, ashaft depending from said cabinet, a guideway slidably receiving saidshaft to aid in maintaining the vertical position of said cabinet,pulleys mounted between the casing side members and the adjacent joists,cables affixed to members projecting laterally from and below thecabinet at its lower end and extending over the pulleys, andcounterweights on the other ends of the cables.

5. In a disappearing ice chest, a cabinet mounted for vertical slidingmovement in an encased opening in a floor, means for counterbalancing amajor portion of the weight of thel cabinet at any of its positions, theexcess weight of the cabinet over that of the counter-balancing meansbeing sufficient to cause the cabinet to gravitate to closed positionwhen not supported by means additional to the counterbalancing means, anair cushion cylinder mounted independently of the cabinet, and a pistonto coact with said cylinder having a connection with the cabinet such asto retard the latter portion of the downward movement of the cabinet.

6. In combination with a floor having spaced joists, a casing formedbetween said joists and having side members spaced therefrom, a cabinetmounted in said casing for vertical sliding movement, the sides of thecabinet fitting intimately within the casing, angle irons reinforcingthe corners of the cabinet and extended below the cabinet bottom to formguides to allow movement of the cabinet to a position entirely above theiloor level, and counterbalancing mechanism to support said cabinet inits raised position.

7. In combination with a ioor having spaced joists, a casing formedbetween said joists and having side members spaced therefrom, a cabinetmounted in said casing for vertical sliding movement, the sides of thecabinet fitting intimately within the casing, angle irons reinforcingthe corners of the cabinet and extended below the cabinet bottom to formguides to allow movement of the cabinet to a position entirely above thedoor level, and counterbalancing mechanism to support the major portionof the weight of the cabinet in its raised position, said irons beingbent upwardly at their lower ends to form hooks positioned to engage thecasing members and retain the cabinet in its raised position.

8. In a disappearing ice chest,a cabinet having an ice compartment, thecabinet being mounted iior vertical sliding movement in an encasedopening in a floor, means for counterbalancing the weight of the cabinetat any of its positions, a tank supported by the cabinet, and means forconducting the water melted from ice within the ice compartment to saidtank in order to compensate for the loss of weight of the ice caused bymelting, said last means including a plurality of pipes firmly securedto the cabinet and extending below the cabinet, fittings on the lowerends of the pipes, downwardly and inwardly extending pipe sectionsremovably secured in said fittings, joined at their lower ends, andserving to support between them the said tank, a plunger deaending fromsaid pipe sections, and a guide chamber slidably receiving said plunger.

Signed at Chamberlain, in the county of Brule and State oit SouthDakota, this 6th day of ctober, 1924-.

Manzo at conKLni.

